The present invention relates to window structures and particularly to window structures adapted for basement windows.
Basement windows face physical and regulatory limitations not shared by other windows. Physically, the fact that much of a typical basement is below ground level means that basement windows are restricted as to height, and generally are wider than they are high, in contrast to most other windows. This means that the basement window is either a single pane window or, if it is double paned, uses side by side panes that slide laterally, rather than, for example, double hung sash windows that open up and down or casement windows that open outwardly.
A regulatory limitation that arises is that many building codes including IRC 2000 require that at least one basement window provide a large enough aperture when opened so that people can escape through the window in an emergency, for example, fire. If the basement window is single paned, that single pane would have to open out or in, and the size required of the single pane may make it unwieldy and expensive. Even if the basement window is side by side double paned, so that one pane could be slid over the other, the size of each pane would still have to match the necessary aperture, making both panes large and expensive and the sliding pane heavy.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved window structure adapted for use as a basement window that is inexpensive, easy to use and provides the necessary aperture to function as an emergency exit.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a window structure that avoids the above-identified difficulties of the prior art.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a window structure usable as a basement window that provides the emergency escape aperture required by law without requiring large, heavy and/or expensive window panes.
In accordance with these and other objects, a window structure in accordance with the present invention comprises a generally rectangular left sash having top, bottom, left side and right side sides, with a first window pane mounted therein, and a corresponding generally rectangular right sash having top, bottom, left side and right side sides, with a second window pane mounted therein. The window structure further comprises a window frame defining a window aperture and supporting the left and right sashes in each of a plurality of positions including respective closed positions wherein the left and right sashes are in side-by-side relation to completely close the window aperture with the right side of the left sash confronting the left side of the right sash.
In accordance with the present invention, the left sash is independently slidable rightward within the frame away from the respective closed position to an open-left position to present an opening between the frame and the left side of the left sash, and the right sash is correspondingly independently slidable leftward.
Moreover, with the left side of the left sash abutting the left side of the frame, the left sash is independently pivotal about its left side to a first open-center position wherein the right side of the left sash is spaced away from the frame, and the right sash is correspondingly independently pivotal about its right side to a second open-center position wherein the left side of the right sash is spaced away from the frame, the left sash at the first open-center position and the right sash at the second open center position presenting a center opening substantially coextensive with the window aperture.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken together with the accompanying drawings.